Set access control for editing sourcing event content

1.      Description

In the 2005 feature releases from SAP Ariba for SAP Ariba Sourcing and SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Suite, a new feature Set access control for editing sourcing event content is available, automatically enabled for all customers and ready for immediate use. The challenge that this feature solves is that previously, project owners on sourcing projects could define project groups that their members could view only some content contained in a sourcing event. However, for groups that had visibility into sourcing event content, there was no way to control edit access to that sourcing event content. As a result, SAP Ariba enabled this feature introducing two new roles that allow users to define project groups and access control lists to control edit access to sourcing event content, the Sourcing Supplier List Editor and the Sourcing Content Editor.

Follow in this blog we will explain the prerequisites, restrictions, and changes of this feature to the existing functionality.

2.      Prerequisites & Restrictions

As a prerequisite, to set access control for sourcing events, items and item terms, the user should be a member of the Template Creator group.

Besides the prerequisites, below we are presenting the restrictions that this feature includes.

1. All users having permission to view an event section can see all content regardless of the edit access control setting. The edit control setting only restrict the ability to edit the content on an event section.
2. The team members who can edit the RFX have, by default, the permission to edit all content in the event. SAP Ariba recommends that administrators set up content to be restricted by default so that users cannot edit content without the proper permissions, and then provide specific content edit permission for event sections.
3. Permissions can be given for sourcing events, content, sections, items, item terms, questions, and the list of suppliers invited to the sourcing event.
4. The permissions given for the item terms should not override the permissions for items.
5. The edited permissions for an item term, such as a price term, the information is updated in all the places where that item term is used.
6. Access control settings do not grant event edit permission to users who do not otherwise have it. To be more specific, only members of the Project Owner and assignee project groups have permission to make a sourcing event editable. If a sourcing event is editable, editing access control further can restrict who can edit specific sections or not.

3.      Changes to existing functionalities

As it was mentioned above there are two roles that allow users to define project groups and access control lists to control edit access to sourcing event content, the Sourcing Supplier List Editor, and the Sourcing Content Editor.

• The Sourcing Supplier List Editor role has the Edit Sourcing Supplier List permission, which enables addition or removal of suppliers from the sourcing event.
• The Sourcing Content Editor role has the Edit Sourcing Supplier List and Edit Sourcing Content permissions, which enable addition or removal of suppliers from the sourcing event and editing sourcing event content.

4.      Configure access control lists to control edit access to sourcing event content

Start using this feature in practice you need to be a project owner within the Template Creator group and one user not included in one of the following groups since a user in one of these groups has permission to edit the content of an event.

• Category Manager
• Commodity Manager
• Customer Administrator
• Event Administrator
• Junior Procurement Agent
• Junior Sourcing Agent
• Limited Event Administrator
• Procurement Agent
• Sourcing Agent
• Sourcing Approver
• Sourcing Project Administrator

As a project owner create a new quick sourcing project. Within this project create a new team with the two additional roles Sourcing Supplier List Editor and Sourcing Content Editor.

Next, go at the Content tab and create content for the event.

If the created team “Test Group” created above, does not have assigned with any role. Then the team members of this group would not have any permission either to add and remove suppliers from the sourcing event or to edit sourcing event content. They only have the option to View Details. So, the users could see the below.

It can be understood that:

• Members of the Project Owner project groups automatically have permission to view the event and can edit the sections to which they have been granted access.
• Members who are not assigned to one of the edit permission groups see only the View Details option and can only view the sourcing events, items, and item terms.
• The members who are not assigned to one of the groups and are allowed to edit the supplier list cannot see the option to add or remove participants in the List of Invited Participants section of the sourcing event details.
• For the team group to gain permissions and be able to add or remove suppliers and edit content besides the roles in the teams, it is needed to be given control on the Content More specific,
  • on the Content page, navigate to the Item -> Edit or Section -> Edit sections, and choose the group having one of the two editor group roles by providing that value for the Additional Editor Groups field.
  • in the Additional Editor Group field choose the team group with the appropriate roles.

• On the Content page, navigate to the Item Terms section, and choose the group having one of the two editor group roles by providing that value for the Additional Editor Groups

• Having done the above configurations, the team member will be able to both see and edit the content and add or remove suppliers.

From the above it can be seen that:

• Members who are assigned to one of the edit permission groups see the Action -> Edit option and can edit the details of the sourcing events, items, and item terms for which they have edit access.
• Members who are assigned to one of the groups that are allowed to edit the supplier list see the option to add or remove participants in the List of Invited Participants section of the sourcing event details.

At Brainbox we follow new releases by SAP Ariba closely and we test each one of them thoroughly. This way of working enables us to implement the newest innovations at our customers. Our consultants are available for implementing new features and we can apply changes to existing SAP Ariba configurations. For more information on our expertise, check: https://brainbox.consulting/consulting-services-sap-ariba/ or contact us at sales@brainbox.consulting.